Elias Vaughn
Commander Elias Vaughn was a Starfleet officer with eighty years experience in Starfleet Intelligence, Special Operations and Tactical. Despite his low rank (kept to maintain a low profile), Vaughn was on a first name basis with most of the Admiralty and had a higher security clearance than some. Vaughn was a critical player in several crucial events in Starfleet history. Among them, The Tomed Incident, The Betreka Nebula Incident, the disaster at Arvada III, the civil war on Beta 3 and the liberation of Betazed from the Dominion to name a few. Then, after a chance encounter with the Bajoran Orb of Memory, Vaughn decided to pursue his lost dream of being an explorer. After taking the vacant First Officers position at Federation starbase Deep Space 9 at age 101, Elias Vaughn commanded the [[USS Defiant|USS Defiant]] on a three-month mission of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant and continued to contribute to Starfleet. Early Life Elias Vaughn was born October 24th, 2274, and was raised on the planet Berengaria VII. He was taught about the stars by his mother, which fuels his early passion for exploration. Vaughn's mother died early in his life Burkhardts disease. Family Life Vaughn and Ruriko Tenmei began a romantic relationship in the year 2349 after the death of their mutual friend T'Prynn of Vulcan. The next year, Ruriko gave birth to a daughter, Prynn Tenmei. Vaughn was away on assignment on the day of Prynn's birth. Vaughn was called away from Prynn's fifth birthday to help Starfleet deal with a coup on the Elaysian homeworld. This is part of a pattern of Vaughn not being in his daughter's life, as Vaughn would always put the mission above all else. Resentment started to grow within Prynn concerning her father's constant absences. Prynn joined Starfleet Academy in the year 2369 in part to be closer to her father. Soon after, Ruriko Tenmei was killed while on assignment with Vaughn. Prynn blames Vaughn for her mother's death, and the two did not speak again for over seven years, until they are reunited on Deep Space 9. Starfleet Academy Vaughn joined Starfleet Academy in the year 2293, and discovered that he had a talent for intelligence and tactical operations. Vaughn gave up his dreams of exploration for a career in Starfleet Intelligence. (Section 31 novel: Abyss) Starfleet Operations After a decade of deskbound analysis with Starfleet special operations, Vaughn, holding the rank of lieutenant was sent on his first major field assignment in the year 2311. He was to accompany Captain John Harriman and Commander Drysi Gravenor, a woman he thought of as a mentor, on a mission to capture the Romulan flagship Tomed. This was remarkably more interesting than some of his previous assignments, among whichh were shadowing a Benzite engineer eventually found innocent of trading stolen technology, the infiltration of a Tellarite mining facility, and the recovery of a container with a stolen Linellian Fluid Effigy inside. (''TLE'' novel: Serpents Among the Ruins, ''DS9'' novel: Avatar Book One) Vaughn's responsibility during the Tomed mission was to steal a shuttle for the three operatives to escape in. Vaughn was nearly killed when the shuttlebay was decompressed, and later had to fight Renka Linavil inside the shuttle. He was later somewhat distraught that he was forced to kill her. (''TLE'' novel: Serpents Among the Ruins) In the year 2319, Vaughn first partners with T'Prynn of Vulcan and the two form a loose partnership that lasts off and on for thirty years. (''DS9'' novel: Lesser Evil) When the Cardassians discovered the ancient wreck of Ch'Gran, a ship that the Klingons considered being sacred, on the planet Raknal V near the Betreka Nebula in the year 2328, war threatens to break out between the two powers. Vaughn attends a Starfleet hosted arbitration in which Starfleet ambassador Curzon Dax proposed a contest between the two powers to see who can best develop the world's resources. Vaughn was very skeptical and said so to Dax. Vaughn also meet Starfleet officer Ian Troi with whom which he begins a friendship. (''TLE'' novel: The Art Of The Impossible) Approximately 2340: Vaughn played a role in the aftermath of the disaster on Arvada III. (''DS9'' novel: Avatar book one) :Date here is a speculation. Beverly Crusher was young, age unspecified, during the events of the Arvada III tragedy. She would have been 16 in 2340. In 2343, Vaughn meet Starfleet Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the [[USS Stargazer|USS Stargazer]]. The two will meet several times over the ensuing years including during a coup on Darnak VII. (''TLE'' novel: The Art Of The Impossible, comic: Divided We Fall) In 2343, after Vaughn's promotion to Lieutenant Commander, Vaughn and T'Prynn saved Special Emmissary Raisa Tartovsky from the planet Devniad in Cardassian space. His superior in Starfleet Intelligence at this time was Captain Uhura. Soon after, in 2343, Vaughn and Troi return to Betreka, where Troi was killed in an explosion caused by Romulan sabotage. Vaughn was injured and spent several months in rehabilitation. After informing Dax of the Romulan involvement at Raknal V, the two team up and discovered the truth about Ch'Gran. Soon afterward, the Klingons cede the planet to Cardassia and negotiate for the wreckage, thus ending the Betreka Nebula Incident. (''TLE'' novel: The Art Of The Impossible) In 2347 Vaughn meets rival SI agent Ruriko Tenmei on the planet Kora II in Cardassian space. The two were sent to help a Cardassian scientist by the name of Crem Veruda defect to the Federation. Veruda had developed an Artificial Intelligence for Cardassia that would give the Cardassians a significant tactical advantage over the Federation. Tenmei and Veruda manage to neutralize the Cardassian AI. (''DS9'' novel: Lesser Evil) In 2349 T'Prynn was killed in a transporter accident on board the [[USS T'Plana-Hath|USS T'Plana-Hath]]. At some point in Vaughn's career he became aware of the rogue agency that calls itself Section 31, a branch of SI that deal in black ops and the kind of activities that go against everything the Federation stands for. Vaughn joined a small cabal of Starfleet officers who have dedicated themselves to the destruction of Section 31. (Section 31 novel: Abyss) In 2367, Vaughn took part in a classified mission to Alexandras Planet involving Romulans and an Iconian Gateway. (''DS9'' novel: Demons of Air and Darkness) In 2369, Vaughn was promoted to Commander. On a mission to Uridisi, in order to keep a copy of Crem Veruda's AI from falling into the hands of the Borg, Vaughn was forced to send Ruriko Tenmei on a one-way mission to a Borg ship to ensure that the AI is destroyed. Ruriko Tenmei was believed dead. (''DS9'' novel: Lesser Evil) In 2375, Vaughn participated in the liberation of Betazed from Dominion control. (''TNG'' novel: The Battle of Betazed) Later that year, Vaughn obtained an illegal 'holo-ship' used in a failed Section 31 operation in the Briar Patch. (Section 31 novel: Abyss) In early 2376, Vaughn was sent to search the Badlands with the [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)|USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-E)]] in response to a rumored Breen incursion. While there, Vaughn discoverd one of the missing Bajoran Orbs Of the Prophets. The orb, the Orb of Memory, remind Vaughn of his lost dream of being an explorer. Vaughn begun to re-evaluate his life and career at that point. (''DS9'' novel: Avatar book one)) Deep Space 9 After returning the lost orb to Bajoran Colonel Kira Nerys and saving station Deep Space 9 from Jem Hadar sabotage, Vaughn requested to fill the vacant post of First Officer on the station. Vaughn's superiors were reluctant to grant him his request at first, but gave in after Vaughn threatened to resign from Starfleet if they did not comply. (''DS9'' novel: Avatar book two) Using the 'holo-ship' aquired the previous year, Vaughn assisted in the removal of the Ingavi from the planet Sindorin, after Section 31 attempted to breed their own Jem Hadar soldiers at lab located on the Badlands based world. Vaughn then recruited Dr. Julian Bashir for the secret battle against Section 31. Vaughn later commanded the [[USS Defiant (NCC-75633)|USS Defiant]] on a three month mission of exploration in the Gamma Quadrant. After a near death experience helping to release a lifeform known as the Imnamuri into this plane of existance while in the Gamma Quadrant, Vaughn had a reconciliation with his daughter Prynn, who was assigned to the Defiant as Conn officer. (''DS9'' novel: Mission Gamma: Twilight) The reconciliation was short-lived, however, as the Defiant discovered a crashed Borg vessel in the Gamma Quadrant and an assimilated and still alive Ruriko Tenmei. When the Assimilation imperitive proved too strong for Ruriko to resist, Vaughn was forced to kill her to prevent her from assimilating Prynn. Prynn once again blamed Vaughn for her mother's death, and once again stopped speaking to him. (''DS9'' novel: Mission Gamma: Lesser Evil) After returning to the Alpha Quadrant, Vaughn had another encounter with a Bajoran orb, this time the Orb of Unity, during which he meet Captain Benjamin Sisko during his sojourn with the Prophets. After returning with Sisko, Vaughn approached Prynn, not wanting to be separated from her again. The two slowly making progress toward reconciliation. (''DS9'' novel: Unity) After the induction of Bajor into the United Federation of Planets, Vaughn assisted with the integration of Bajor's militia into Starfleet. Vaughn, during that time, celebrated his 102nd birthday. (''DS9'' novel: Worlds of Deep Space Nine Volume 2: "Bajor - Fragments and Omens") Vaughn, Elias Vaughn, Elias Vaughn, Elias Vaughn, Elias Vaughn, Elias Vaughn, Elias